One mechanism for hemostasis, i.e., prevention of blood loss, of a mammal is the formation of a blood clot. Clot formation in humans, i.e., blood coagulation, occurs by means of a complex cascade of reactions with the final steps being the conversion of fibrinogen--a monomer--by thrombin, calcium ions and activated factor XIII to form ultimately crosslinked fibrin II polymer, which is the fibrin clot.
The formation of crosslinked fibrin II polymer proceeds by the fibrinogen being converted by thrombin to fibrin I monomer, which spontaneously polymerizes to form fibrin I polymer, which is sometimes referred to as soluble fibrin I because by treatment by appropriate chemical means the fibrin I polymer can be reconverted to fibrin I monomer. The fibrin I polymer is then converted by thrombin to fibrin II polymer, which is sometimes referred to as soluble fibrin II because by treatment by appropriate chemical means the fibrin II polymer can be converted to fibrin II monomer. The fibrin II polymer, under the influence of factor XIIIa--known as activated factor XIII--is then crosslinked to form crosslinked fibrin II, which is the fibrin clot. Factor XIII is activated by thrombin in the presence of calcium ions. Cross-linked fibrin II is sometimes referred to as insoluble fibrin II because it cannot be converted to fibrin II monomer.
It should be noted that thrombin is formed from prothrombin. Prothrombin is converted to thrombin by factor Xa in the presence of calcium and other ancillary substances.
Fibrinogen represents about 2 to 4 grams/liter of the blood plasma protein. Fibrinogen is a monomer that consists of three pairs of disulfide-linked polypeptide chains designated (A.alpha.).sub.2, (B.beta.).sub.2, .gamma..sub.2. "A" and "B" represent the two small aminoterminal peptides, known as fibrinopeptide A and fibrinopeptide B, respectively. The cleavage of fibrinopeptides A from fibrinogen in the transformation of fibrinogen by thrombin results in the fibrin I compound and the subsequent cleavage of fibrinopeptides B results in the fibrin II compound. Such cleavage of fibrinopeptides A and B reduces the molecular weight of fibrinogen by an extremely small amount, about 6,000 out of 340,000 daltons, but exposes the polymerization sites. For a review of the mechanisms of blood coagulation and the structure of fibrinogen, see C. M. Jackson, Ann. Rev. Biochem., 49:765-811 (1980) and B. Furie and B. C. Furie, Cell, 53: 505-518 (1988).
A fibrin sealant is a biological adhesive whose effect imitates the final stages of coagulation, thereby resulting in a fibrin clot. Conventional fibrin sealants consist of concentrated human fibrinogen, bovine aprotinin and factor XIII, as the first component and bovine thrombin and calcium chloride as the second component. Application is generally carried out with a double-barrelled syringe, which permits simultaneous application of both components to the site where one wants to form the fibrin clot. Aprotinin is a fibrinolytic inhibitor added to promote stability of fibrin sealants.
The fibrinogen component of the fibrin sealant is prepared from pooled human plasma. The fibrinogen can be concentrated from the human plasma by cryoprecipitation and precipitation using various reagents, e.g., polyethylene glycol, ether, ethanol, ammonium sulfate or glycine. For an excellent review of fibrin sealants, see M. Brennan, Blood Reviews, 5:240-244 (1991); J. W. Gibble and P. M. Ness, Transfusion, 30:741-747 (1990); H. Matras, J. Oral Maxillofac Surg., 43:605-611 (1985) and R. Lerner and N. Binur, J. of Surgical Research, 48:165-181 (1990).
Recently, there has also been an interest in the preparation of fibrin sealants that utilize autologous fibrin. An autologous fibrin sealant is a fibrin sealant wherein the fibrinogen component of the fibrin sealant is extracted from the patient's own blood. The use of an autologous fibrin sealant is preferred because it eliminates the risk of transmission of blood-transmitted infections, e.g., hepatitis B, non A, non B hepatitis and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), that could otherwise be present in the fibrinogen component extracted from pooled human plasma. See L. E. Silberstein et al., Transfusion, 28:319-321 (1988); K. Laitakari and J. Luotonen, Laryngoscope, 99:974-976 (1989) and A. Dresdale et al., The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 40:385-387 (1985).
An infection can be transmitted by a fibrin sealant not only by means of the fibrinogen but also by means of the bovine aprotinin and the bovine thrombin component. Bovine thrombin has been known to carry the infectious agent bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE) and other viruses pathogenic to mammals. Furthermore, bovine thrombin is a potent antigen, which can cause immunological reactions in humans. Thus, the use of bovine thrombin could result in the recipient of the bovine thrombin being adversely affected. See D. M. Taylor, J. of Hospital Infection, 18(Supplement A):141-146 (1991), S. B. Prusiner et al., Cornell Vet, 81 No. 2: 85-96 (1991) and D. Matthews, J. Roy. Soc. Health, 3-5 (February 1991).
Accordingly, there is the need for a fibrin sealant that can be delivered to a patient without the risk of viral contamination or other adverse affects.